Let's just jump right in to a great story. I witnessed greatness this weekend. A friend of mine, Jenni, went from living her whole life in a wheelchair due to a bad draw of cerebral palsy and spina bifida to training hard and then walking 12 steps at graduation to receive her diploma from UW-Green Bay two years ago to gritting it out and walking one mile in four hours and 32 minutes at the very inspiring myTeam Triumph event for people with disabilities this past weekend in Green Bay, Wi. What a transformation!

Jenni trained for two years for this mile. After a five month setback from surgery she came back and worked with Cassie, a wonderful trainer at the YMCA who broke the mile goal down into manageable pieces. I remember stopping by and cheering Jenni on the day she made one lap around the gym. What an accomplishment!

But race day was not one lap in a small gym. It was two laps around four huge blocks. It had screaming crowds with cameras and reporters who wanted to know Jenni's story. The gym was flat and Jenni's feet and walker slid easily. The road was banked and full of cracks and holes that seemed to reach out and grab Jenni's feet. And worst of all it was up a slight hill.

So what do you do when you hit obstacles?

When you watch the video below you will see that Jenni persisted. She persisted past the hour time limit. Past all the kids races. Past dinner time. One step...then another...then another. She could have stopped after one lap of a 1/2 mile which she completed in two hours and thirty two minutes. But she persisted...one...step...at...a...time. The sun set. The crowds were gone. Jenni hurt, big time. She had a choice. Quit or persist? She chose to persist.

Then, just like in Rocky, a group of school kids and teachers from St. Bernard's school found out what she was doing and joined in to cheer her on. Her "angels" in red encouraged her. Her rock, Robyn, kept her focused. Jenni turned the last corner. The end was in sight! A lady in a truck played Chariots of Fire and lit up the night with her headlights. The kids grabbed the finish line banner which was down now for hours. Then with one final push she did it! Jenni crossed the line and met her goal of walking one mile! 4:32.00. Just like a marathon. The little crowd went wild! Tears abounded. The national founder of myTeam Triumph, Ron Robb, put a champions medal around Jenni's neck. Victory!

I caught up with Jenni three days later to sit and process this great achievement.

Jane:Jenni, how do you go from not walking to walking 12 steps to walking one mile?

Jenni:Believe me, you need a whole herd of people to be with you. Without my 'angels' I would have probably given up after the first hill and said, "Ok, too hard, not happening."

Jane:You could have stopped after 2 1/2 hours when you crossed the half mile mark to the wild cheers of the many fans. But you kept going. Why?

Jenni:I came to walk 1 mile, not a 1/2 mile.

Jane:Ok, I admit it...I snuck out after that point and ran home for an hour to get some pizza. I was hungry! When I came back you were at the 3/4 mile mark and hurting big time mentally and physically. How did you persist?

Jenni:I was struggling. So my friend Katie pulled out my post on Facebook which said, "Today is the day the Triumph mile has come. I have worked so hard and for so long. I will walk a mile today with the help of my 'angels' and prove to everybody that you can do anything no matter what challenges lie before you." Hearing that snapped me from negative to positive. Yes, I was in physical pain and the road kept pulling me sideways and that uphill really got to me but my brain was beating me up more. Enough. I just focused on Robyn who stood 20 steps ahead of me and broke my goal down to 10-20 steps at a time. Instead of thinking of the pain, I started thinking of the finish line.

Jane:At one point, I was worried you were going to quit.

Jenni:Yes, that last 1/4 mile I was not someone you would want to be with. I had to grit that out. Alone, I would probably have stopped. That is why, whatever your goal, you need healthy people around you. Because believe me you will fall and you will crash. And that is when you really need your people.

Jane:Jenni, you did it. You crossed the finish line and met your goal!

Jenni:My emotions went bonkers. Then Ron from myTeam Triumph, placed a medal around my neck so professionally. It meant that I actually did succeed. This wasn't a dream. Now I have a memento that tells me I did this.

Jane: You made me cry again.

Jenni: I know! Ha Ha!

Jane:What would you say to people who don't train for their goal because they are too tired or some other excuse?

Jenni:I would slap them aside the head! Then I would say go for your goals no matter how big or how small because you can achieve so much if you